Sprint hit with largest-ever ‘Do Not Call’ fine

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Sprint hit with largest-ever ‘Do Not Call’ fine

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — When it comes to “Do Not Call” requests, Sprint apparently hasn’t gotten the message.

The Federal Communications Commission announced Monday that the wireless carrier will pay a $7.5 million fine for failing to honor requests from consumers to opt out of phone and text-message marketing campaigns. As part of the settlement, Sprint has to set up a compliance program and provide regular reports to regulators for the next two years.

The fine comes after Sprint reached a similar settlement over “Do Not Call” violations with regulators back in 2011, paying a $400,000 fine.

“When a consumer tells a company to stop calling or texting with promotional pitches, that request must be honored,” FCC enforcement chief Travis LeBlanc said in a statement.

Sprint said the settlement “relates to issues resulting from technical and inadvertent human errors, which Sprint reported to the FCC.”

“We have conducted a thorough, top-to-bottom evaluation of our Do Not Call data management systems, and significant capital investments have been made to improve our Do Not Call/SMS Message architecture, oversight and compliance,” the company said.

The fine is the largest ever from the FCC in a “Do Not Call” case, though it’s safe to say Sprint’s not sweating it — the company brought in $8.9 billion in sales in the first three months of this year alone.

Americans can opt out of telemarketing communications thanks to a 2003 law that set up the national “Do Not Call” registry. You can sign up for the registry online at www.donotcall.gov.